#then the demos are categorized by era but everything else is just a mess

[tsunreleased]

ok i’m officially sorting my songs, but how do you think they should best be categorized? like what would be the most helpful

[joshcroteau]

Alan Vega, Alex Chilton, Ben Vaughn - Cubist Blues (1996)

I decided to leave my response to my first listen of Cubist Blues in a track by track format because I don’t plan to give Cubist Blues a second listen. There have been albums in my life that I had to listen to over and over again to grasp (albums by Velvet Underground, The Modern Lovers, The Byrds, Captain Beefheart, Arthur Russell, Bjork, The Cure and especiallyThe Rolling Stones…) but this album will not be one of them, because I do not want to like this album. I think if I heard someone listening to this album from start to finish I’d make an assumption that I probably wouldn’t really hit it off with that person and they’re probably a little up their own ass. I by no means hated Cubist Blues. I really liked a couple songs on the album and will listen to them again but I am writing about Cubist Blues as a collective album of songs and some of the songs stink.

I found Cubist Blues, in full, on youtube and oddly enough it had been uploaded just a few days ago. 124 people had already listened to it and it has seven thumbs ups. There was one comment from Edward Feltch (oh, what an interesting last name) about how he met Alex Chilton after a show in 1990 and they smoked weed and watched TV together. The album is 12 songs long and just a hair over an hour. Cubist Blues was released in 1996 by Thirsty Ear and more recently rereleased by Light in the Attic. I wanted to listen to something by Alex Chilton, and with Vega’s somewhat recent death, my adoration for Chilton’s work in Big Star, and the cool abstract album art, I decided to go with Cubist Blues.

Vega takes over singing duties and according to the liner notes Chilton plays guitar and shares synthesizer, bass, piano and drumming duties with Vaughn.

There’s a definite improvisational feel to the opener Fat City. From having heard Suicide, I am immediately familiar with Alan Vega’s repetitive, monotone, hammered Elvis ramblings that eventually turn into shrieks. The song does a good job of setting the tone for what’s to come.

Fly Away: When Alan Vega sings “there’s no pain” and “no more crying” he sounds like he’s probably lying. As the song picks up I realize that his voice and his singing style reminds me of the limited amount of Nick Cave I’ve heard (a few Birthday Party songs, soundtrack stuff, a Grinderman album and some of The Boatman’s Call album) but it reminds me of Nick Cave… a lot.

Freedom: I immediately like this song. Phasey, filtered synths whirl over a reverby drum loop while Vaughn drops some warm guitar leads over the trance. This would have been on the Drive soundtrack if it had come out in the nineties.

Candyman: When Candyman starts I am reminded that Alex Chilton is on Cubist Blues. The chiming Velvet Underground Loaded-era style guitar that breaks off into occasional blues bursts is clearly Chilton and wouldn’t have seemed out of place on a Big Star demo. If it weren’t for the demonic, didjeridoo sounding drone in the background this song could have actually made sense on an album like Big Star’s Third. (I’ve never looked into much of Alex Chilton’s solo work outside of a live album at theOcean Club in ’77). Vega’s absentminded mumblings actually add a nice layer to the top of the track, saving what could otherwise be a bit too straightforward of a song for an album categorized as being in the  “art rock” genre. Candyman is a cool song.

Come On Lord: I thought this was a pretty give or take song overall.

Promised Land: Promised Land opens like a more organic sounding Suicide song. The track is a blend of snappy looping electric and live drums accompanied by a hooky, fuzzed out keyboard line while feedback weaves in and out of the groove. I kept thinking this album had to have been a live recording of three guys improvising, trying out multiple takes of each song but the credits on the album prove otherwise. Vaughn is credited with both guitar and drums on this song and unless the man has multiple arms (he doesn’t, I checked) there is no way he is doing both in syncopation.

Lover of Love: Again, the song starts with a very obvious Alex Chilton blues riff, this time on piano. I typically get very bored with “by the book” blues riffs but I don’t mind when Alex Chilton plays them, I’m not sure why he gets a pass. This song gets pretty sloppy and falls out of time on more than one occasion. Lover of Love didn’t need to be on this album. This was the first song I felt like skipping and I started to get nervous that the rest of the album was going to go downhill.

Sister: Sounds like music that would be playing in the back of a lounge by a band that isn’t going to get paid that night.

Too Late: Too Late builds off of a smooth, rolling riff over yet another drum loop. The band starts jamming out sporadically on this track and I took the opportunity to look up who the hell Ben Vaughn is and why he was important enough to warrant Chilton and Vega wanting to record an album with him.  Vaughn was in a band that toured the U.S. several times called the Ben Vaughn Combo, he went solo in ’88 and recorded critically acclaimed albums, toured those albums and eventually made the record Cubist Blues. Vaughn’s wikipedia was basically a snooze-fest until I read that he recorded the Third Rock from the Sun theme song,  and the Big Star cover of “In the Street” for That 70’s Show. My biggest takeaway from listening to this album is going to be that I can share this fun fact with my friend Carl;  I know no one else gives a shit about Ben Vaughn.

Do Not Do Not: Another sloppy mess that snowballs. There are points on this song and parts of this album that sound like a blues band chose their slowest song and then all swapped instruments, they don’t last for long but these moments do show up pretty regularly on Cubist Blues.

The Werewolf: The synth is dialed into the classic Suicide tone and Vega sings about a Werewolf driving in a jeep. I don’t know if it’s because it’s  what suited Vega’s voice best, or his comfortability level, but when the root of the song is a looping drum and a looping keyboard line, everything clicks. I get lost in these songs (Werewolf, Freedom, Promised Land) and I am reminded of why I enjoy the first Suicide album.

Dream Baby Revisited: The final track on Cubist Blues sounds like a final track on an album. A drunken swaying goodbye that quickly fades out just as it sounds like it’s about to pick up.

Rating: 5/10

Favorites: Freedom, Candyman, Promised Land

[lookingforthemagic]

Alan Vega, Alex Chilton, Ben Vaughn - Cubist Blues (1996)

I decided to leave my response to my first listen of Cubist Blues in a track by track format because I don’t plan to give Cubist Blues a second listen. There have been albums in my life that I had to listen to over and over again to grasp (albums by Velvet Underground, The Modern Lovers, The Byrds, Captain Beefheart, Arthur Russell, Bjork, The Cure and especially The Rolling Stones…) but this album will not be one of them, because I do not want to like this album. I think if I heard someone listening to this album from start to finish I’d make an assumption that I probably wouldn’t really hit it off with that person and they’re probably a little up their own ass. I by no means hated Cubist Blues. I really liked a couple songs on the album and will listen to them again but I am writing about Cubist Blues as a collective album of songs and some of the songs stink.

I found Cubist Blues, in full, on youtube and oddly enough it had been uploaded just a few days ago. 124 people had already listened to it and it has seven thumbs ups. There was one comment from Edward Feltch (oh, what an interesting last name) about how he met Alex Chilton after a show in 1990 and they smoked weed and watched TV together. The album is 12 songs long and just a hair over an hour. Cubist Blues was released in 1996 by Thirsty Ear and more recently rereleased by Light in the Attic. I wanted to listen to something by Alex Chilton, and with Vega’s somewhat recent death, my adoration for Chilton’s work in Big Star, and the cool abstract album art, I decided to go with Cubist Blues.

Vega takes over singing duties and according to the liner notes Chilton plays guitar and shares synthesizer, bass, piano and drumming duties with Vaughn.

There’s a definite improvisational feel to the opener Fat City. From having heard Suicide, I am immediately familiar with Alan Vega’s repetitive, monotone, hammered Elvis ramblings that eventually turn into shrieks. The song does a good job of setting the tone for what’s to come.

Fly Away: When Alan Vega sings “there’s no pain” and “no more crying” he sounds like he’s probably lying. As the song picks up I realize that his voice and his singing style reminds me of the limited amount of Nick Cave I’ve heard (a few Birthday Party songs, soundtrack stuff, a Grinderman album and some of The Boatman’s Call album) but it reminds me of Nick Cave... a lot.

Freedom: I immediately like this song. Phasey, filtered synths whirl over a reverby drum loop while Vaughn drops some warm guitar leads over the trance. This would have been on the Drive soundtrack if it had come out in the nineties.

Candyman: When Candyman starts I am reminded that Alex Chilton is on Cubist Blues. The chiming Velvet Underground Loaded-era style guitar that breaks off into occasional blues bursts is clearly Chilton and wouldn’t have seemed out of place on a Big Star demo. If it weren’t for the demonic, didjeridoo sounding drone in the background this song could have actually made sense on an album like Big Star’s Third. (I’ve never looked into much of Alex Chilton’s solo work outside of a live album at the Ocean Club in ’77). Vega’s absentminded mumblings actually add a nice layer to the top of the track, saving what could otherwise be a bit too straightforward of a song for an album categorized as being in the  “art rock” genre. Candyman is a cool song.

Come On Lord: I thought this was a pretty give or take song overall.

Promised Land: Promised Land opens like a more organic sounding Suicide song. The track is a blend of snappy looping electric and live drums accompanied by a hooky, fuzzed out keyboard line while feedback weaves in and out of the groove. I kept thinking this album had to have been a live recording of three guys improvising, trying out multiple takes of each song but the credits on the album prove otherwise. Vaughn is credited with both guitar and drums on this song and unless the man has multiple arms (he doesn’t, I checked) there is no way he is doing both in syncopation.

Lover of Love: Again, the song starts with a very obvious Alex Chilton blues riff, this time on piano. I typically get very bored with “by the book” blues riffs but I don’t mind when Alex Chilton plays them, I’m not sure why he gets a pass. This song gets pretty sloppy and falls out of time on more than one occasion. Lover of Love didn’t need to be on this album. This was the first song I felt like skipping and I started to get nervous that the rest of the album was going to go downhill.

Sister: Sounds like music that would be playing in the back of a lounge by a band that isn’t going to get paid that night.

Too Late: Too Late builds off of a smooth, rolling riff over yet another drum loop. The band starts jamming out sporadically on this track and I took the opportunity to look up who the hell Ben Vaughn is and why he was important enough to warrant Chilton and Vega wanting to record an album with him.  Vaughn was in a band that toured the U.S. several times called the Ben Vaughn Combo, he went solo in ’88 and recorded critically acclaimed albums, toured those albums and eventually made the record Cubist Blues. Vaughn’s wikipedia was basically a snooze-fest until I read that he recorded the Third Rock from the Sun theme song,  and the Big Star cover of “In the Street” for That 70’s Show. My biggest takeaway from listening to this album is going to be that I can share this fun fact with my friend Carl;  I know no one else gives a shit about Ben Vaughn.

Do Not Do Not: Another sloppy mess that snowballs. There are points on this song and parts of this album that sound like a blues band chose their slowest song and then all swapped instruments, they don’t last for long but these moments do show up pretty regularly on Cubist Blues.

The Werewolf: The synth is dialed into the classic Suicide tone and Vega sings about a Werewolf driving in a jeep. I don’t know if it’s because it’s  what suited Vega’s voice best, or his comfortability level, but when the root of the song is a looping drum and a looping keyboard line, everything clicks. I get lost in these songs (Werewolf, Freedom, Promised Land) and I am reminded of why I enjoy the first Suicide album.

Dream Baby Revisited: The final track on Cubist Blues sounds like a final track on an album. A drunken swaying goodbye that quickly fades out just as it sounds like it’s about to pick up.

Rating: 5/10

Favorites: Freedom, Candyman, Promised Land